GBA Lifestyle News
By Yannie Chan | February 16th, 2016

Three random thoughts from a Hong Kong millennial.

1. I was asked recently by a non-millennial about my fears and worries. I wanted to say the future of Hong Kong, sustainable food, and the ills of capitalism, but while those are legitimate concerns of mine, I need to make a confession: most of my worries are really quite silly.

My main source of stress is not getting enough sleep, and I feel fat all the time. I wonder if my foundation is creasing, and I don’t want to tell people I’m doing an internship because it seems lame. I google the hell out of an aching limb or an overactive bladder, fearing that I’m sick. Seriously, my bowel movement occupies a lot of my daily thoughts.

But my biggest worries? What to eat for lunch and dinner, replying to my boss and sending mass emails at work. And when I get a mass email, I worry about why my name is last on the recipients list?!??!

There you have it, the everyday worries of a Hong Kong 24-year-old.

2. I have finally figured out why I need to put more effort into building my social media persona. Because I suck at small talk, and social media updates help you skip right past the much-dreaded “What’s up with you?”

I was meeting up with some friends who I didn’t know very well the other day. One of my friends, who is usually very shy, got to skip past all the small talk because she is a social media genius who posts interesting updates regularly. Thanks to her religious posting, my friend didn’t need to explain the basics — people asked her about her travels, new job, and latest hangouts instead!

And that in itself is totally worth the tireless photo-taking, the careful editing of captions, and the strategic posting onto each separate social media platforms at the right time to get the most likes. If this works, I may not need to answer any more questions from my relatives. 

3. What I’m reading… A 13-year-old’s guide to Snapchat. How to take 40 selfies in under a minute, the importance of streaks, and how not to be a NARP. Don’t know what any of those things mean? Yeah, you need to read this.